We have been applying our understandings of circuits to design and build our very own gaming controllers. We have completed research, designed, redesigned, built, tested, rebuilt, retested and reflected on our work! It was quite the process but we are happy to see that all our controllers can be used to play Super Mario and Tetris! We can’t wait to show you our finished products, and explain how they work, on Open Night.

Last week was National eSmart Week. All the Year 4 to 6 classes participated in one activity to reinforce their Cyber Safety messages from Term 1. The Year Sixes decided to join together and were given the task of designing an ‘eSmart Tattoo’. With the understanding that a tattoo is permanent, we wanted to apply this to the message that ‘what goes online, stays online’. It can not be deleted.

Working in groups of 3, with a student from each class, Year Sixes were challenged to design a logo and come up with a catchy motto to reinforce the eSmart messages they have learned about.

Below you will see some of the finished works! We have laminated these and placed them on our laptops as a constant reminder.

Here is also a handy reminder about balancing time online as we approach the spring school holidays.

In Science, we have been concentrating on using scientific language, as well as applying our understandings, to investigations. This term we have completed many investigations which students have worked in groups to plan, execute and explain independently. We have been using ThingLink to share our understandings using our MacBooks. View some of our samples below.

As we are now approaching the half way mark to our third term in Year 6, we are well and truly into our programs in all learning areas.

We have been very focused on building our knowledge of fractions, decimals and percentages. We have looked at number lines, equivalence, simplifying and how to identify a fractional amount of a whole number. Further to this, we have been working hard to rectify misconceptions we had about fractions. Our growth mindset approach has helped us to stay motivated and positive towards challenges.

As we are looking at reversible and irreversible changes in Science, we were very engaged during our Water Corporation incursion in Week 3. We learned all about the desalination process and also learned the value of water.

We reflected on our learning using our Google Classroom. In English, we have been learning the difference between formal and informal language. We are learning how to have an online discussion, as we found that many of us were only sharing our own ideas, rather than replying to and building on the ideas of others.

Our Science experiments have tested various processes such as evaporation, melting, dissolving and burning. We are focused on drawing scientific diagrams (not pictures) and labelling with our scientific knowledge rather than listing items in our diagrams. Our weekly experiments have kept motivation high!

We have a major focus on grammar and punctuation in our English sessions this term. We are then applying these skills to our narrative writing. We are beginning to notice the importance of using correct articles and tense. Further to this, we are looking at the many rules of apostrophes and commas. This is a work in progress and we will continue to emphasise these skills for the remainder of the year.

Cooperative Reading has begun again; this time with group novels and shared responsibilities. It is essential that all students dedicate adequate time, as well as effort, to Cooperative Reading. Through this, not only are we consolidating and combining many reading comprehension skills, we are also learning important skills such as referencing. In preparation for high school requirements of essay structure and literature study, Cooperative Reading, if done properly, is highly beneficial. As you can see by just some of our samples below; we are capable of some high level and impressive work.

Cooperative Reading is always dedicated some in class time and extensive discussion. It is essential that students complete their required work at home; as clearly written on the fortnightly homework grids.

http://aubingroveps.wa.edu.au/room-10/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2017/08/phtoos-e1502547644458.jpg142200melaniecrosshttp://aubingroveps.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AGPS-Logo-Horizontal.pngmelaniecross2017-08-13 09:19:092017-08-12 23:19:15Almost half way through Term 3!

We have made our own workable pianos using our digital technology skills! To demonstrate our understanding of electronic circuits, we built our own network using the Makey Makeys, graphite pencils, paper and wires. We are now applying this knowledge to create our own workable video game controllers.

Our novels for Cooperative Reading have been chosen and distributed, with students hopefully now beginning to read their required chapters at home now. This term, students are working in groups and rely on each group member to complete their assigned tasks on time.

Each session requires a completed reading goal reflection as well as the delegated reading role reflection. We have spoken about this extensively in class and are studying the roles with other texts to clarify any misunderstandings. The students have nominated the ‘Investigator’ role as the one they find most difficult.

In reading, we have been studying short texts to identify the theme (a requirement of Investigator). We have also learned how to find clues which guide the reader to find the theme/message in the text.

Session 1 work is due next Thursday. From here on, every Thursday a new session will be due. This is written clearly in the homework grid which will come home on Monday.

If a student is absent, they must still complete their required reading and be up to date with their sessions. Please let me know if your child is unwell and unable to complete their work. Each session, students have a week to complete their required work. The learning intention and success criteria has gone home with students and must be referred to.

Writing

Our writing genre this term is Narratives. This requires creative thinking and effective idea generation. As a class, we have identified that ‘coming up with ideas’ is a weakness. To rectify this, every day this week, we have looked at various ways to ‘attack’ a narrative.

This term we are learning about Chemical Science. In previous years, we have learned about solids, liquids and gases. To build on this knowledge, we are now studying reversible and irreversible changes. To kick our learning off – today, we looked at various substances and materials that had undergone a ‘change’. We had to be detectives and figure out what had happened, how it had happened and whether the change was reversible or irreversible.

Thank you to those who have already started to collect bottles and jars for us! It is very appreciated. Please keep collecting and bringing them in!

This term our Mathematics focus surrounds fractions, decimals and percentages and the relationship between each. This week we have revised our understandings from previous years and already started to build on our knowledge. We are focusing on ordering and comparing fractions with unlike denominators. This can be an intimidating skill for some. We have developed 3 different strategies as a class to assist us when ordering fractions on a number line. When looking at equivalence between fractions, we enjoyed working together; playing a dice game. Already, we have seen an increase in our confidence when approaching fractions.

To begin learning about the relationship between fractions and percentages, we have applied our learning to the real world. We have studied the current world demographics – represented in a village of 100 people. We have discovered that in our village, 61/100 would be from Asia, while only 1/100 would be from Oceania. looked at the distribution of wealth around the world. To do this, we had each member of our class representing a different data set. 11 of our 31 students did not have adequate access to sanitation. 6 of those 11 also didn’t have adequate shelter. Of those 6, 4 were starving and were living on under $1.25 a day. From the remaining students (20), 3 students were holding the majority of the world’s wealth.

Today in our Maths session, we looked at the distribution of wealth around the world. To do this, we had each member of our class representing a different data set. Through this we saw:

11/ 31 students did not have adequate access to sanitation.

6/11 also didn’t have adequate shelter.

4/6 were starving and were living on under $1.25 a day.

From the remaining students (20), 3 students were holding the majority of the world’s wealth.

We then introduced Minties into the equation. To demonstrate the distribution of wealth accurately, the 3 richest students were given 25 Minties. Among the other 17 students, there were 5 Minties. The remaining 11 who did not have sanitation, shelter or wealth, received none.

When asked how to distribute the 5 Minties among 17 students – the only resulting idea from students was to fight it out. We realised, this is not the uncommon solution in the real world.

It was decided that the fate would lie with our 3 wealthy students who met to discuss whether they would keep the Minties themselves or distribute them across the class. Of course, they decided to share them.

We realised that depending on the simple action of where students happened to be standing in our class circle, decided whether they were rich or poor, comfortable or starving, with shelter or without shelter. No one had done anything differently to anyone else. From here, we reflected on how lucky we are to be living in Aubin Grove and the opportunities and luxuries we sometimes take for granted.

We are now half way through our final year! Thank you for a great first semester.

Students will be coming home with their Reports tomorrow afternoon. They will also be bringing home information regarding our School Photos in early Term 3. You would have received a school email with our schedule. Please be aware that Faction Captains will need to wear their purple uniform and also bring their faction shirt on the day.

We celebrated the end of our term of learning today with an AFL themed competition. As the AFL has been our learning context in Mathematics this term, it was a fitting theme. Students worked in teams, competing in rounds which tested our knowledge acquired throughout the term including; Maths, Reading Comprehension, Geography and Science. We also competed in other rounds involving music, general knowledge and of course, AFL. To keep us motivated and active throughout the day, the rounds were mixed up with physical challenges including push ups and burpees, handballing and finally working our creative magic to dress a model for the Brownlows.

Along the way, students completed anonymous Brownlow votes for the people in their group who were contributing, being fair and involving others. Well done to Josh, Kayla, Jacob, Will, Connor, Jarrad and Declan who were selected by their team mates as the Brownlow winners. They then were involved in a goal kicking competition to win a footy donated by South Freo FC. Congratulations to Jarrad and Declan who took home the big prizes! All students received some footy goodies for participating.

Prizes were provided for us by: West Coast Eagles FC, WA Footy Commission, South Fremantle FC, St Kilda FC, North Melbourne FC, Hawthorn FC and Melbourne FC when it was explained that we were using footy to help us in learning Maths.

We have been working hard in Maths lessons to make sure we understand how to solve complicated addition, subtraction, multiplication and division sums efficiently. We have learnt about a variety of strategies and have gained confidence in how to select the best method for each problem. We have also been practising our ability to tackle worded problems. Using the CUBES strategy has helped us to slow down, ensure we have read and answered the correct question and eliminated any unnecessary information. These concepts will be revisited throughout the year. We are really proud of our progress so far!

We have also been strengthening our graphing skills. We have been using data from the AFL to practise creating a range of data displays. We have been paying close attention to the correct labelling of our axes. Check out our side-by-side column graphs below, comparing AFL career goals vs behinds of selected players.

Feedback

Our visible learning focus continues to be a major point in our classroom. We have been concentrating on the value of specific peer feedback. We started our learning by watching a video called ‘Austin’s Butterfly’. The video looked at a student who was attempting to draw a scientific drawing of a butterfly. He was given specific feedback by his peers and his progress from the first to fourth drawing really inspired our class as it showed the impact the peer feedback had on his improvement. We teamed up with a Year 3 class to practise the same process. Our samples are amazing – we also love working with younger students.

Science

Following our work around yeast and micro-organisms, we have been exploring the world of mould. To begin, we used some mould samples to explore what we could see with the use of a microscope. We were equally thrilled and disgusted to check it out! We then created our own experiments testing the various conditions mould needs in order to grow. Some students have tested access to light, others have tested temperature and moisture. After 10 days of growth, we have collected the data and are now developing a line graph to help us explain what we think has happened.

School Science Competition

The students have been introduced to 2017’s Science Week challenge, revolving around our Earth and Sustainability. We joined with students from Room 35 and Room 16 to pull apart the challenge and explore the different ways you could tackle the challenge. The students were asked what the quote, “There is no Plan B because we do not have a Planet B,” meant and we developed our understanding of the way the world is changing. The students were then placed in groups of 6 where they participated in a team building activity to get to know their peers and were then given a scenario card to explore through drama. This scenario card looked at four different futures that could occur.

English and Geography

English and Geography have come together this term, with students researching and writing a comparative report about the differences and similarities between Australia and an Asian country. This has been a tricky task as we have had to do extensive research, drafting, writing and editing in order to get to the finish line! We are now concluding our pieces and they are looking fantastic. We have recently discovered that when proof reading our work, we seem to pick up more mistakes when we read our writing out loud. This has made a big difference and we are now actively trying to do this more often.